Families & Households - Family And Social Policy

Question 1

What is social policy?

Answer 1

Plans & actions of state agencies (health & social services, welfare benefit systems, schools & other public bodies)

Question 2

What are the effects of social policy?

Answer 2

Direct & indirect effects

Question 3

What are direct effects of social policy?

Answer 3

Policies that are aimed directly at families e.g. laws on marriage,divorce, child protection, contraception or abortion

Question 4

What are indirect effects of social policy?

Answer 4

Policies on other social/economic issues that also affect the family e.g. compulsory schooling = childcare however children are financially dependent

Question 5

What are some examples of direct social policy for families?

Answer 5

Child support & child benefit
Child protection act 1989
Divorce reform act 1969
Legalisation of same-sex marriage 2014
Maternity & paternity leave
Abortion laws
Contraception
Pension

Question 6

What is an example of indirect social policy on families?

Answer 6

The sex discrimination act -> women aren’t financially dependent on men anymore

Question 7

What do functionalists say about social policy?

Answer 7

Social policies are the good for all & the sees the state as acting in society’s interests
Policies help families perform their functions more effectively & make life better for its members e.g. Fletcher -> the introduction of health, education & housing policies since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the welfare state that supports the family in performing it’s functions
- NHS -> helps the family take better care of it’s sick members

Question 8

What are some criticisms of the functionalist view on social policy?

Answer 8

Assumes all members benefit equally -> feminists argue policies often benefit men at women’s expense
Assumes a ‘march of progress’ -> Marxists argue policies can reverse change previously made e.g. cutting welfare benefits to poor families

Question 9

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Donzelot say about policing the family?

Answer 9

Has a conflict view & sees policies as a form of state power & control over families
Uses Foucalt’s concept of surveillance -> sees power as held by the government diffused through society & found within all relationships
Sees professionals (e.g. doctors) as exercising power over clients using their expert knowledge -> they’re turned into ‘cases’ to be dealt with -> applies it to families -> argues social workers, doctors etc. use their knowledge to control/change families
Surveillance isnt equally targeted among social classes as poorer families are more likely to be seen as a problem (cause of crime & antisocial behaviour) & a target for improvement

Question 10

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Rachel Condry say about policing the family?

Answer 10

The state may seek control & regulate families by imposing compulsory parenting orders through the courts e.g. parents of young offenders are forced to go to parenting classes to learn the ‘correct’ way to parent
She focuses on a micro level -> Donzelot shows the importance of professional knowledge as a form of power & control

Question 11

What are some criticisms from Marxists & feminists on policing the family?

Answer 11

Donzelot doesnt mention who benefits
Marxists -> argue social policies generally operate in capitalist interests
Feminists -> argue social policies generally benefit men

Question 12

What is the comparative view on family policy?

Answer 12

Cross cultural examples & historical periods show extreme ways state policy effects family life -> helps to see the relationship between social policy & families in a new light

Question 13

What was China’s one child policy & how was it enforced?

Answer 13

A government population control policy aimed to discourage couples from having more than one child
It was supervised by the workplace & family planning committees -> women had to seek permission to get pregnant of which there was a waiting list & a quota
Couples who complied got extra benefits -> only one child got priority in education & housing in later life, couples who didn’t had to repay allowance & pay a fine -> women faced pressure of sterilisation after one child

Question 14

What social policies did communist Romania introduce that affected the family?

Answer 14

Policies were introduced to increase the birth rate that was falling as living standards declined
They restricted access to contraceptives & abortion, they setup infertility clinics, divorce was made more difficult, legal age of marriage lowered to 15, unmarried adults & childless couples had to pay extra 5% income tax

Question 15

What was the Nazi family policy and how did it affect families?

Answer 15

A state pursued twofold policy in the 1930s
The nazis encouraged a ‘racially pure’ people to breed a ‘master race’ so access to contraception & abortion was restricted
Official policy sought women confined to their biological role (women look after house, kitchen, church etc.)
State policy sought 375000 disabled people sterilised on the grounds of ‘physical malformation, mental retardation, epilepsy, imbecility, deaf/blindness -> many killed in concentration camps

Question 16

What do democratic societies say about family policy?

Answer 16

Some argue family is a private sphere of life which the government shouldn’t intervene (except for when things go wrong e.g. child abuse)
Sociologists argue state’s social policy plays an important role in shaping family life even in democratic societies

Question 17

What do the New Right say about social policy & the family?

Answer 17

They are strongly in favour of the ‘conventional’, traditional nuclear family based on a married heterosexual couple with a division of labour between a man & woman
They see the nuclear family as self-reliant & capable of providing & caring for it’s members & the successful socialisation of children
They believe changes leading to an increase in family diversity are threatening the conventional family & are providing social problems e.g. crime

Question 18

THE NEW RIGHT (SOCIOLOGIST): What does Brenda Almond argue about social policy & the family?

Answer 18

Laws making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man & woman and
The introduction of civil-partnerships & marriage (since 2014) for same sex couples sends message that the state no longer sees hetero marriages as superior to other domestic set-ups
Tax law discriminates against conventional families with a sole breadwinner as a non-working partner cannot transfer tax allowance to the other so they pay more
Points out that increased rights for unmarried cohabitants e.g. adoption rights makes cohabitation more similar to marriage -> sends the message marriage isn’t superior

Question 19

What does the New Right say about lone parents, welfare policy & dependency culture?

Answer 19

Commentators (e.g. Charles Murray) are particularly critical of welfare policy as it provides ‘generous’ welfare benefits (e.g. council housing for teen mums) which undermines the conventional family & encourages deviant & dysfunctional family types which harm society
Murray -> argues welfare benefits offer ‘perverse incentives’ and rewards irresponsible/antisocial behaviour e.g. some fathers may abandon their responsibilities to their kids as a state will maintain them, current policies encourages dependency culture which threatens successful socialisation of the young, maintenance of work ethic amongst men

Question 20

What is the New Right’s solution to social policy & the family?

Answer 20

They argue policy must be changed to cut welfare spending & tighter restrictions on who’s eligible for them
Have benefits such as reduction in tax so fathers have increased incentive to provide for their family & denying council housing for unmarried teen mums to provide less incentive to get pregnant young
Advocate policies to support traditional nuclear family e.g. making absent fathers financially responsible for their kids
They disagree with the functionalist view
They believe less state ‘interferes’ with family life the better it will be with greater self reliance to enable the family to meet its member’s needs more effectively

Question 21

What is the New Right’s influence on policies?

Answer 21

Conservative policies since 1970 show a mixed picture with similarities between New Right & New Labour policies

Question 22

What is some evaluation on the New Right perspective on social policy & the family?

Answer 22

Feminist -> argue it’s an attempt to justify a return to traditional patriarchal nuclear family that confined men & women to classic roles
Wrongly assumes the patriarchal nuclear family is ‘natural’ rather than socially constructed
Abbott & Wallace argue cutting benefits simply drive many poor families into greater poverty & they’re self-reliant
Ignore many policies that support & maintain the conventional nuclear family

Question 23

What is the conservative governments (1979-97) perspective on social policy & the family?

Answer 23

The new right view -> they banned promotion of homosexuality by local authorities (including ban of teaching that homosexuality was an acceptable family relationships)
The new right view -> divorce was defined as a social problem & emphasised the continued responsibility of parents for their kids after divorce -> set up child support agencies to enforce maintenance payments by absent parents
Opposed new right view -> divorce made easier & gave ‘illegitimate children’ same rights as those born to married parents

Question 24

What is the New Labour government perspective on social policy & the family?

Answer 24

Has a similar view to the New Right
Emphasised the need for parents to take responsibility for their kids e.g. introducing parenting orders for parents of truants & young offenders
Policies favour dual-earner, neo-conventional family e.g. longer maternity leave, 3 months unpaid for both parents & the right to seek time off work for family reasons which made working for both easier/working families tax credit which enabled parents to claim some tax relief on childcare costs/the new deal which helped lone parents return back to work
Argue certain types of state intervention can improve family life e.g. welfare, taxation & minimum wage policies partly aimed at lifting children out of poverty by redistributing income to the poor through higher benefits (the new right disapprove)
They support alternatives to the conventional hetero nuclear family with policies e.g. civil partnerships for same sex couples, giving unmarried couples same right to adopt as married couples & outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexuality

Question 25

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Silva & Smart say about new labour government family social policy?

Answer 25

They rejected The New Right view that the family should just have 1 (male) earner & recognised that women can work

Question 26

What is the conservative led government 2010 perspective on social policy & the family?

Answer 26

Have been divided between modernisers & traditionalists -> means its difficult to maintain consistent policy line on the family
Critics argue the conservative government’s financial austerity policies have reflected the New Right’s desire to cut public spending but they have failed to introduce policies that have promoted their idea of the conventional nuclear family

Question 27

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Hayton say about modernisers & traditionalists in the conservative led government 2010?

Answer 27

Modernists -> recognise more diverse families & are willing to reflect it in their polices
Traditionalists -> favour the New Right view & reject diversity as morally wrong

Question 28

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Browne say about the conservative led government’s (2010) about their failure to promote the new right’s ideas?

Answer 28

Two parent families with children taxed particularly badly as a result of their tax & benefit policies

Question 29

What does feminism say about family social policy?

Answer 29

Argue all social institutions (including the state) & it’s policies help maintain women’s subordination & unequal gender division of labour in the family

Question 30

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Hillary Land say about policies as a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 30

Argues many social polices assume that the ideal family is the patriarchal nuclear family with a male provider & female housemaker with dependent kids -> affects the kind of policies governing family life that reinforce that type of families at the others expense, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy e.g. state assumes ‘normal’ families are based on marriage so tax incentives are offered to them that aren’t to cohabiting couples
The policies therefore make it difficult to live in other family types than which they are assumed to live in by the state

Question 31

What are some policies that support the patriarchal family & why?

Answer 31

Tax & benefit -> assume the husband are the main wage earners & their wives are their financial dependents (reinforces women’s dependency on their husbands as they can’t claim social security benefits in their own right
Childcare -> the government pays some childcare for pre-school kids is not enough to permit parents to work full time & school timetables & holidays makes working full time hard so they have to pay for extra childcare (women are left financially dependent)

Question 32

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Leonard say about policies that support the patriarchal family?

Answer 32

Argues even when policies appear to support women, they may reinforce that patriarchal family & act as a form of social control over women e.g. maternity leave -> more generous than paternity leave & encourage the idea that women take care of infants & not men as well as low benefits that increase women’s economic dependence on their partner
As well as, child benefit to the mum -> gives a source of income so they’re not dependent but assumes child welfare is her responsibility
Shows importance of social policies in family roles & relationships by making it easier for women to take responsibility of caring for infants/assuming that men are the economic providers -> social policies help create & maintain patriarchal roles & relationships that are assumed to be the norm

Question 33

What is a strengthof family social policy?

Answer 33

Not all policies are directed at maintaining the patriarchy e.g. equal pay, sex discrimination laws, same-sex marriage, benefits for lone parents & refugees for women escaping DV, equal rights to divorce & rape in marriage recognised as a crime (1991) -> challenge the patriarchal family & improve the position of women in the family & wider society

Question 34

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Drew say about gender regimes?

Answer 34

Describes how social policies in different countries can either encourage/discourage gender equality in the family/work
Identifies 2 types: familistic & individualistic

Question 35

SOCIOLOGIST: What is familistic & individualistic gender regimes identified by Drew?

Answer 35

Familistic -> policies based on the traditional gender division
Individualistic -> policies based on the idea that husbands & wives are treated equal & wives aren’t assumed to be financially dependent (each partner is entitled to state benefits)

Question 36

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Drew say about the state vs the market?

Answer 36

Argues most countries are moving to individualistic regimes -> more likely to move away from the traditional patriarchal family & more towards greater gender equality in family roles & relationships
However policies e.g. publicly funded childcare aren’t cheap & involve major conflicts on who benefits & who pays for them -> naive to assume a ‘march of progress’ view on gender equality
- feminists argue since recession (2008) the government cut spending throughout Europe -> increased pressure on women to care for family members as the state retreats from providing welfare
- there’s a trend towards neoliberal welfare policies (individuals & families are encouraged to use the market rather than the state to meet their needs e.g. private pension
- differences between European countries show social policies can play an important role in promoting/preventing gender equality in the family